How one USC Population, Health, and Place Ph.D. alum turns curiosity into global impact
Yingyi Lin
- Assistant Professor (incoming), Global Health Policy, University of Texas at Dallas
- Former Senior Officer, Gates Foundation – Modeling & Quantitative Science (Family Planning)
When Yingyi Lin completed her Ph.D. in Population, Health, and Place, she went directly to work at the Gates Foundation, starting as a Research Scientist and then as a Senior Officer. There, she led high-impact modeling work that shaped global family planning investment and strategies. In August 2025, Lin will join the University of Texas at Dallas as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Global Health Policy. Her path to these influential roles was forged at USC’s interdisciplinary Population, Health, and Place and Ph.D. program.
“My SSI Ph.D. experience definitely helped prepare me for what I’m doing now. Most importantly, that’s when I got introduced to Demography — a course I probably wouldn’t have taken if I were in a different Ph.D. program. It completely reshaped how I thought about concepts like fertility, not just as academic topics, but as issues deeply connected to everyday life.”
The USC SSI Population, Health and Place Ph.D. program didn’t just offer research training – it nurtured intellectual curiosity. It led Lin to write about things she never expected – from birth to death, from violence at home to violence on the battlefield, everyday experiences viewed through the lens of a demographer and modeler.
“The biggest takeaway from my Ph.D. is the value of being open-minded. That mindset helped me grow as a researcher and allowed me to question assumptions that many take for granted.”